Improving clostridial toxoid production through molecular fermentation maps. This project aims to improve vaccine production by generating detailed molecular maps of fermentation which will be used to design superior fermentation processes with reduced cost. Toxoid vaccines, used routinely in the livestock industry to prevent animal-disease caused by pathogenic Clostridia, are produced using batch fermentation processes. These processes have undergone limited optimisation over the past five deca ....Improving clostridial toxoid production through molecular fermentation maps. This project aims to improve vaccine production by generating detailed molecular maps of fermentation which will be used to design superior fermentation processes with reduced cost. Toxoid vaccines, used routinely in the livestock industry to prevent animal-disease caused by pathogenic Clostridia, are produced using batch fermentation processes. These processes have undergone limited optimisation over the past five decades. Low titres and frequent batch failures greatly affect capital use and represent a significant cost. In addition, current optimisation approaches are limited by the use of expensive and noisy endpoint assays. This project aims to use high-throughput chemistry (multi-omics) that overcome these limitations.Read moreRead less
Metalloproteomics: A new piece of the systems biology puzzle. Systems biology uses advanced analytical technology to study the complex chemistry of the living cell. Many cellular functions are the result of chemical reactions involving metalloproteins, which are notoriously difficult to study due to the weak bonds between metal and protein that is not normally amenable to traditional proteomic approaches. In partnership with the leading analytical manufacturer Agilent Technologies, this project ....Metalloproteomics: A new piece of the systems biology puzzle. Systems biology uses advanced analytical technology to study the complex chemistry of the living cell. Many cellular functions are the result of chemical reactions involving metalloproteins, which are notoriously difficult to study due to the weak bonds between metal and protein that is not normally amenable to traditional proteomic approaches. In partnership with the leading analytical manufacturer Agilent Technologies, this project aims to adapt and apply advanced mass spectrometry to the study of metalloproteins, developing new methods for studying hundreds of molecules in single experiments. Using the C. elegans model organism the project aims to showcase the importance of metals in biology and develop new solutions for the $2.9 billion proteomics industry.Read moreRead less
Redirecting Carbon Flow through Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells of Sugarcane to Produce Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate. This project is part of the National Priorities "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries." Using innovative plant metabolic engineering technologies combined with sophisticated computer modeling we are generating green plants that produce renewable, biodegradable, bioplastics possessing properties such that they are suitable replacements for petrol ....Redirecting Carbon Flow through Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells of Sugarcane to Produce Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate. This project is part of the National Priorities "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries." Using innovative plant metabolic engineering technologies combined with sophisticated computer modeling we are generating green plants that produce renewable, biodegradable, bioplastics possessing properties such that they are suitable replacements for petroleum-derived products in many applications. During the course of these studies, we are increasing our basic level of understanding of plant metabolism of important bioenergy crops. The production of renewable, bioplastics in sugarcane will help to diversify the Australian sugarcane industry by providing a value-added product with significant world-wide markets.Read moreRead less
Engineering cyanobacteria for high-value flavours and fragrances production. Engineering the metabolism of cyanobacteria for industrial production of flavours and fragrances has great commercial potential. Cyanobacteria capture more than 25% of the planet’s carbon. Due to their native metabolism and capacity to express complex plant proteins, they represent an attractive Synthetic Biology platform for the biosynthesis of flavours and fragrances. Combining physiological strain characterisation an ....Engineering cyanobacteria for high-value flavours and fragrances production. Engineering the metabolism of cyanobacteria for industrial production of flavours and fragrances has great commercial potential. Cyanobacteria capture more than 25% of the planet’s carbon. Due to their native metabolism and capacity to express complex plant proteins, they represent an attractive Synthetic Biology platform for the biosynthesis of flavours and fragrances. Combining physiological strain characterisation and ‘omics studies, new Synthetic Biology strategies and models will be developed. The project aims at engineering a suite of modified freshwater and marine cyanobacteria for flavours and fragrances biosynthesis. The project aims at enabling solar biomanufacturing to underpin the emergence of an advanced Australian bioeconomy.Read moreRead less
Developing an integrated systems and synthetic biology platform to expand the product spectrum of acetogens. This project aims to advance a waste gas fermentation process to enable the production of sustainable aviation fuel molecules for the first time. LanzaTech are world leaders in microbial gas fermentation and have produced ethanol at large scale in China. This project aims to combine the LanzaTech process with systems biology expertise at The University of Queensland to go beyond ethanol t ....Developing an integrated systems and synthetic biology platform to expand the product spectrum of acetogens. This project aims to advance a waste gas fermentation process to enable the production of sustainable aviation fuel molecules for the first time. LanzaTech are world leaders in microbial gas fermentation and have produced ethanol at large scale in China. This project aims to combine the LanzaTech process with systems biology expertise at The University of Queensland to go beyond ethanol to deliver new value-added products such as butanediol and farnesene. To achieve this aim the project will explore, understand and overcome fundamental energy and metabolic limitations in the production microorganism. Achieving the aims will be of direct relevance to SkyNRG and the new Brisbane Bioport on their path to deliver sustainable fuel to Brisbane Airport.Read moreRead less
Physiology and genetics of barley grain germination in the malting and brewing industries. An international research team will provide new scientific information on barley grain germination. This detailed basic knowledge will be immediately applied in breeding programs that are aimed at improving malting and brewing quality in a commercial context. At the same time, the industry's carbon footprint will be significantly reduced.
Harnessing the 'omics revolution to investigate drug response and resistance mechanisms in Giardia duodenalis. This international research project will harness cutting-edge technologies to explore how Giardia, a major global cause of diarrhoeal illness in humans, responds to and becomes resistant to key anti-giardial drugs, providing valuable information for drug preservation and development.
Nutritional and bacterial influences on gut and peripheral homeostasis. Nutritional and bacterial influences on gut and peripheral homeostasis. This project aims to understand the role of macronutrients on gut homeostasis. While the understanding of what factors affect gut homeostasis is still in its infancy, scientists know that its disruption contributes to a broad range of inflammatory diseases, including type 1 diabetes and asthma. This project will determine the role of specific macronutrie ....Nutritional and bacterial influences on gut and peripheral homeostasis. Nutritional and bacterial influences on gut and peripheral homeostasis. This project aims to understand the role of macronutrients on gut homeostasis. While the understanding of what factors affect gut homeostasis is still in its infancy, scientists know that its disruption contributes to a broad range of inflammatory diseases, including type 1 diabetes and asthma. This project will determine the role of specific macronutrients on gut microbiota, gut epithelium, and immunity in mice, and the receptors involved. This research could ultimately lead to significant decreases in the cost of healthcare.Read moreRead less
Novel anti-ageing peptides in the vascular system. The project will substantially improve basic understanding of the ageing process in blood vessels and provide scientific evidence to understand what preventative health care measures might work and why. It will also produce highly skilled and practically trained graduates, ready to contribute to the health industry.
Information Systems Enabled Corporate Transformation: Evaluation of Electronic Customer Relationship Management in the Service Sector. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a business and marketing strategy that integrates technology, process and business activities around the customer. Only 30% of electronic CRM efforts have been successfully implemented because stakeholder expectations are typically neglected. This issue underlines the importance of the ?soft? organisational issues involve ....Information Systems Enabled Corporate Transformation: Evaluation of Electronic Customer Relationship Management in the Service Sector. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a business and marketing strategy that integrates technology, process and business activities around the customer. Only 30% of electronic CRM efforts have been successfully implemented because stakeholder expectations are typically neglected. This issue underlines the importance of the ?soft? organisational issues involved with the evaluation of information systems. By evaluating the change management process and modelling the impact of e-CRM enabled change, management strategies will be developed to enable its successful implementation. The research will provide a greater understanding for evaluating the performance of e-CRM solutions, as well as uncover opportunities for organisational related change.Read moreRead less